It is known to provide a lock mechanism for an automotive vehicle steering column to prevent rotation of the steering wheel under certain circumstances, for example, to deter to vehicle theft when not in use. Various steering column lock mechanism have been disclosed which use an ignition switch actuated rack and pinion drive to prevent rotation of a steering column. Early examples of such devices include the mechanisms disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,400,507 (Addis) and U.S. Pat. No. 1,487,863 (Lavigne), which use the rack of a rack-and-pinion drive to act directly on the steering column to prevent steering column rotation. A more recent example of steering column lock technology is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,487 (Williams et al.), assigned to the assignee of the present invention, which uses a steering wheel mounted ignition to reciprocate a rack by a pinion connected to a key cylinder. Another steering column locking device, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,576 (Milton), rotates a pinion by a steering column support ignition to actuate a rack. A second rack attached to the first rack rotates a control gear which, in turn, actuates a clutch connected to the steering column.